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Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated sketch-comedy television series, created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root for Adult Swim. The writers, especially Green, also provide many of the voices. Senreich, Goldstein, and Root were formerly writers for the popular action figure hobbyist magazine ToyFare.[2] Robot Chicken has won an Annie Award and three Emmy Awards.[3][4] Syndicated repeats started airing on TBS on October 20, 2014. Contents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_Chicken# hide *1 Background *2 Opening sequence *3 Overview *4 Recurring sketches *5 Episodes *6 Voice cast **6.1 Main cast **6.2 Celebrity guest stars **6.3 Other voice actors *7 Home releases *8 International *9 References *10 External links Backgroundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=1 edit Robot Chicken is based on "Twisted ToyFare Theater", a humorous photo comic-strip appearing in ToyFare: The Toy Magazine.[5] It is a sketch comedy that parodies a number of pop culture conventions using stop motion animation of toys,action figures, claymation, and various other objects, such as tongue depressors, The Game of Life pegs, and popsicle sticks during a joke about a loss of budget.[6] The show's name was inspired by a dish on the menu at a West HollywoodChinese restaurant, Kung Pao Bistro, where Green and Senreich had dined; the series originally was intended to be called''Junk in the Trunk.[6] The series first appeared as ''Sweet J Presents on the Sony website Screenblast.com in 2001.[7] The show was created, written, and produced by Green and Senreich. Sweet J Presents ended after 12 episodes and moved to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2005 as Robot Chicken. In the first episode ("Conan's Big Fun"), Conan O'Brien was a featured character, voiced by Seth MacFarlane (2005–present).[8] Robot Chicken premiered on Sunday, February 20, 2005.[7] It is produced by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (ShadowMachine Films Seasons 1-5) in association with Stoop!d Monkey, Williams Street, Sony Pictures Digital, and Sony Pictures Television.[7] It also airs in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of FX's Adult Swim block, in Canada on Teletoon'sTELETOON at Night block, in Australia on The Comedy Channel's Adult Swim block, in Russia on 2x2's Adult Swim block, in Germany on TNT Series' Adult Swim block, and in Latin America on the I.Sat Adult Swim block (after being cancelled from Latin Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block in 2008). The show is rated TV-MA, and many of the sketches from Sweet J Presents were redone for Robot Chicken.[7] The series was renewed for a 20-episode third season, which ran from August 1, 2007, to September 28, 2008.[7] After an eight month hiatus during the third season, the show returned on August 31, 2008, to air the remaining 5 episodes.[7] The series was renewed for a fourth season which premiered on December 7, 2008, and ended September 20, 2009.[7] In early 2010, the show was renewed for a fifth and sixth season (40 more episodes total).[9] Season 5 premiered on December 12, 2010.[7] The second group of episodes began broadcasting on October 23, 2011. The 100th episode aired on January 15, 2012.[7] In May 2012, Adult Swim announced they were picking up a sixth season of Robot Chicken, which began airing in September 2012.[10] The seventh season premiered on April 13, 2014. Opening sequencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=2 edit On a stormy night, a mad scientist finds a road-killed chicken, which he takes back to his laboratory to re-fashion into a cyborg. Midway through the opening sequence, the titular chicken turns his laser eye towards the camera, and the title appears amidst the "laser effects" as Les Claypool of Primus can be heard screaming "It's alive!" a-la Frankenstein. Claypool also composed and performed the show's theme song. The mad scientist then straps the re-animated Robot Chicken into a chair, usescalipers to hold his eyes open, and forces him to watch a bank of television monitors (an allusion to A Clockwork Orange); this scene segues into the body of the show, which resembles someone frequently changing TV channels. In the episode "1987", Michael Ian Black claims that this sequence tells the viewer that they (the audience) are the robot chicken(s), being forced to watch the skits. As a result, the show does not actually focus on the robot chicken until the 100th episode when he finally makes his escape and later kills the mad scientist when he kidnaps a hen who is the chicken's girlfriend. Beginning in the sixth season, the role of chicken and mad scientist are reversed in this opening sequence: The chicken turns the mad scientist into a cyborg and then subjects him to watch the television sets. However, the eye color is changed in the sixth season intro, with it being changed from red to blue.[11] Overviewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=3 edit The show mocks popular culture, referencing toys, movies, television, popular fads, and more obscure references like anime cartoons and older television programs, much in the same vein as comedy sketch shows like Saturday Night Live.[12] One particular motif involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities because of aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer PSA for the humans, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom).[12] The program even had a 30-minute episode dedicated to Star Wars which premiered June 17, 2007, in the US featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best.[13] The''Star Wars'' episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award as Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). Recurring sketcheshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=4 edit The show features several recurring sketches. Some of the more predominant ones include: *'Bloopers' - A parody of the Bob Saget-era of America's Funniest Home Videos, featuring a host with exaggerated spastic mannerisms who commits suicide at the end of each show. *'The Nerd' - The Nerd is an awkward middle school student with broken glasses who lisps.[14] Although his name was mentioned as "Gary" in an early episode, later episodes give his name as "Arthur Kensington Jr.". The Nerd imagines what it would be like to live in various well-known fantasy worlds. *'Where Are They Now?' - A sketch in which Michael Moore investigates past media celebrities (often stars of old television programs that produced toy lines) who have fallen into obscurity. *''Robot Chicken'' has been cancelled - Four of the six season finales of Robot Chicken perpetuated a running gag in which Mike Lazzo, the head of Adult Swim, announces that Robot Chicken has been cancelled.[14] Episodeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=5 edit Main article: List of Robot Chicken episodes Voice casthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=6 edit Main casthttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=7 edit Main and major recurring actors / writers are: *Jordan Allen-Dutton *Candace Bailey *Abraham Benrubi *Alex Borstein *Leah Cevoli *Rachael Leigh Cook *Hugh Davidson *Mikey Day *Eden Espinosa *Donald Faison *Katee Sackhoff *Tamara Garfield *Sarah Michelle Gellar *Ginnifer Goodwin *Clare Grant *Seth Green *Jamie Kaler *Mila Kunis *Jordan Ladd *Seth MacFarlane *Breckin Meyer *Dan Milano *Chad Morgan *Tom Root *Matthew Senreich *Amy Smart *Kevin Shinick *Adam Talbott *Erik Weiner *Zeb Wells *Victor Yerrid Celebrity guest starshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=8 edit Among those celebrities that have contributed to this show are: *50 Cent *Scott Adsit *Malin Åkerman *Magda Apanowicz *Sean Astin *Sebastian Bach *Kevin Bacon *Robin Bain *Diora Baird *Elizabeth Banks *Sasha Barrese *Lance Bass *Sean Bean *Kristen Bell *Lake Bell *Jon Bernthal *Ahmed Best *Michael Ian Black *Wayne Brady *Amy Brenneman *Alison Brie *Clancy Brown *Eugene Byrd *Dean Cain *Bruce Campbell *Tisha Campbell-Martin *Linda Cardellini *Jennifer Carpenter *Robert Carradine *Emma Caulfield *Lacey Chabert *Sarah Chalke *Kyle Chandler *Max Charles *Kristin Chenoweth *Emmanuelle Chriqui *Michael Chiklis *Erika Christensen *Diablo Cody *Gary Coleman *Kevin Connolly *Josh Cooke *Abbie Cornish *Dave Coulier *Bryan Cranston *Chace Crawford *Affion Crockett *Macaulay Culkin *Robert Culp *Alan Cumming *Anthony Daniels *Keith David *Vicki Davis *Rosario Dawson *Dom DeLuise *Kat Dennings *Dustin Diamond *Phyllis Diller *Snoop Dogg *Dr. Drew *Clark Duke *Ashley Eckstein *Zac Efron *Sam Elliott *Chris Evans *Joey Fatone *David Faustino *Jon Favreau *Nat Faxon *Corey Feldman *Miguel Ferrer *Nathan Fillion *Reggie Fils-Aimé *Carrie Fisher *Dan Fogler *Dave Foley *Ben Foster *Megan Fox *Alfonso Freeman *Soleil Moon Frye *Peter Gallagher *Donald Glover *Whoopi Goldberg *Zachary Gordon *Mark-Paul Gosselaar *Lucas Grabeel *Topher Grace *Spencer Grammer *Brian Austin Green *Cee-Lo Green *Judy Greer *Melanie Griffith *Josh Groban *Greg Grunberg *Kathryn Hahn *Corey Haim *Larry Hama *Jon Hamm *Mark Hamill *Colin Hanks *Jim Hanks *Alyson Hannigan *Neil Patrick Harris *Melissa Joan Hart *Dennis Haskins *David Hasselhoff *Ethan Hawke *Erinn Hayes *Emily Head *Jon Heder *Hugh Hefner *Tom Hiddleston *Megan Hilty *Hulk Hogan *Nicholas Hoult *Kelly Hu *Vanessa Hudgens *Sarah Hyland *The Iron Sheik *Gregory Itzin *Gillian Jacobs *Scarlett Johansson *Rashida Jones *Robert Kazinsky *Monica Keena *Ellie Kemper *Kesha *Keegan-Michael Key *Val Kilmer *Jimmy Kimmel *Robert Kirkman *Don Knotts *Ashton Kutcher *Mike Lazzo *Stan Lee *Adrian Lester *Zachary Levi *Matthew Lillard *Christopher Lloyd *Mario Lopez *George Lucas *Ludacris *Ralph Macchio *Holly Madison *Jena Malone *Lee Majors *Kate Mara *Bridget Marquardt *James Marsden *George R. R. Martin *Master P *Danny Masterson *William Mapother *Eric McCormack *Malcolm McDowell *John C. McGinley *Joel McHale *Julian McMahon *Rove McManus *Shane McRae *Ming-Na *Katy Mixon *Alfred Molina *Ronald D. Moore *Pat Morita *Olivia Munn *Conan O'Brien *Pat O'Brien *Raymond Ochoa *Sandra Oh *Masi Oka *Adrianne Palicki *Hayden Panettiere *Chris Parnell *Shawn Patterson *Aaron Paul *Jordan Peele *Simon Pegg *Rhea Perlman *Ron Perlman *Chris Pine *Roddy Piper *Scott Porter *Freddie Prinze, Jr. *Zachary Quinto *Daniel Radcliffe *Efren Ramirez *Sarah Ramos *Marion Ramsey *Jeremy Renner *Paul Reubens *Burt Reynolds *Alfonso Ribeiro *Giovanni Ribisi *Andy Richter *Jason Ritter *Krysten Ritter *AnnaSophia Robb *Saoirse Ronan *Paul Rudd *Debra Jo Rupp *Jeri Ryan *RZA *Katee Sackhoff *Meredith Salenger *Liev Schreiber *Rick Schroder *Ryan Seacrest *David Shaughnessy *Dax Shepard *Dave Sheridan *Sarah Silverman *Gene Simmons *J. K. Simmons *Nick Simmons *Sir Mix-a-Lot *Christian Slater *Jean Smart *Kurtwood Smith *J.B. Smoove *Brenda Song *Hal Sparks *Brent Spiner *Mary Steenburgen *Mindy Sterling *Jon Stewart *Patrick Stewart *Emma Stone *Patrick Stump *Jason Sudeikis *Marc Summers *T-Pain *Cat Taber *Tila Tequila *Charlize Theron *Lea Thompson *Billy Bob Thornton *Ashley Tisdale *Stuart Townsend *Michelle Trachtenberg *Triple H *Joe Lo Truglio *Stanley Tucci *Alan Tudyk *Robin Tunney *Steven Tyler *Skeet Ulrich *Wilmer Valderrama *Jean-Claude Van Damme *James Van Der Beek *Milo Ventimiglia *Lark Voorhies *Dreama Walker *Patrick Warburton *Michaela Watkins *Pete Wentz *Wil Wheaton *Joss Whedon *Mae Whitman *Olivia Wilde *Kendra Wilkinson *Billy Dee Williams *Harland Williams *Maisie Williams *Henry Winkler *Michael Winslow *Alex Winter *Elijah Wood *Matthew Wood *"Weird Al" Yankovic *William Zabka *Billy Zane *Tay Zonday Other voice actorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=9 edit Besides the celebrities above, many famous voice actors work on this series including: *Michael Benyaer *Bob Bergen *Rachel Bloom *Julianne Buescher *Greg Cipes *Keith Crofford *Jim Cummings *Grey DeLisle *Jeannie Elias *Bill Farmer *Mike Fasolo *Keith Ferguson *Quinton Flynn *Danny Goldman *Mike Henry *Tom Kane *Neil Kaplan *Maurice LaMarche *Phil LaMarr *George Lowe *Roger L. Jackson *Rachael MacFarlane *Drew Massey *Christopher McCulloch *Patrick Pinney *Bill Ratner *Adam Reed *Susan Silo *Danny Smith *Dana Snyder *Stephen Stanton *Tara Strong *Cree Summer *Fred Tatasciore *Rory Thost *Frank Welker Home releaseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=10 edit Revolver Entertainment have released the first four seasons and all three Star Wars specials in the United Kingdom.[17] A box set including the first 3 seasons has also been released.[18] Madman Entertainment has released all Robot Chicken seasons and specials to date in Australia and New Zealand. Internationalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robot_Chicken&action=edit&section=11 edit *''Robot Chicken'' premiered in Australia on The Comedy Channel on March 11, 2008, after the Group Programming Director Darren Chau secured The Comedy Channel as the Australian home of Adult Swim. The Comedy Channel brought both Seth Green and Matt Senreich to Australia to conduct a promotional tour to support the launch.[19] *''Robot Chicken'' premiered in Portugal on the channel MOV in February 2013. *''Robot Chicken'' premiered in Germany on the pay TV channel Sat.1 Comedy on December 5, 2007 and on the free TV channel VIVA Germany in January 2014. *''Robot Chicken'' premiered in the Netherlands on the channel Comedy Central Netherlands in February 2014. *In Canada, the series airs on Teletoon at Night, the nighttime programming block on Teletoon. Category:2005 television series debuts